Home Modification Service (HMS)

The Our Lady of Consolation (OLOC) Home Modification Service aims to improve your sense of well-being by offering entry level home modifications that aim to increase your level of independence, your safety and your ability to access things in your home.

How to Get Started

You will have to have your needs assessed by a My Aged Care assessor. For assessment information or to organise an assessment you or your family can access the My Aged Care web portal www.myagedcare.gov.au/ or call 1800 200 422.

We would be happy to assist you in contacting My Aged Care and help you to navigate the government aged care system. Simply contact one of our friendly staff on (02) 9832 4599.

After the assessment we will make contact with you and organise to meet and discuss your needs.

Who Can Access the Home Modification Service

You must be an older person, 65 years of age or over (or be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person 50 years of age or over) living at home and require some help to remain safe and independent in your home. Then based on your assessment you may be eligible to receive assistance from the Home Modification Service supplied by Our Lady of Consolation (OLOC).

Where required, a carer of a client receiving Home Modification Services may also be eligible to have some home modifications to their house if the older person is spending significant time at the carer’s house.

We operate in the local government areas of: Auburn, Blacktown, The Hills, Holroyd and Parramatta.

What Type Of Modifications Might I Receive?

The modifications you can access through the Home Modification Service are not general renovations to your home. The allowable modifications are specific to keeping you safe and independent. There is a wide range of alterations that we might be able to assist you with and some of the things that might help are:

Redesigning a bathroom, to help you to maintain your independence in a safe environment whilst carrying out your own personal care.

Altering a kitchen, to allow you to continue to be able to cook your own meals. Your benches might need to be lowered or your stove changed to a side opening oven that you can easily operate.

Widening a doorway, to help you to move around your house, or to go outdoors into the sunshine.

Installing a smoke alarm, so that you are confident that in an emergency it will respond and enable you to seek help.

Installing handrails in your bathroom, to alleviate the risk of you falling.

Paying for the Home Modification Service

The staff at My Aged Care will assess your eligibility to receive the Home Modifications Service. They will ask you to provide information on your income status, then they will provide you with some initial information on fees.

The Australian Government subsidises a range of aged care services in Australia. If your personal circumstances allow, it is expected you will contribute to the cost of your care including your home modifications. If you are able to contribute towards the cost of your home modification and our staff will be able to discuss our fees policy with you. We offer a range of payment options that we can tailor to meet your financial circumstances.

Any fees or eligibility for subsidies will be discussed and agreed upon with you in advance and included in a plain English quote, setting out what has been agreed and giving you the opportunity to clarify any concerns before any of the home modification work takes place.

All modifications to your home must be approved by an Occupational Therapist and this can be arranged by us on your behalf.

Before we finish it is important to us, that we inspect the job with you and make sure it meets your needs. Our Occupational Therapist will visit when the job is finished to make sure you are happy and that you are functioning in a safer, more independent way.

Our Commitment To You

We want to ensure that you are more than satisfied with the work carried out, and that the modification undertaken will enhance your well-being and allow you to continue to live at home. However, if for some reason this is not the case then we would encourage you to contact us immediately on (02) 9832 4599 and your concerns will be dealt with promptly and professionally.

Whilst OLOC would prefer to have the opportunity to resolve all complaints directly in the first instance, If the resolution is not to your satisfaction or you prefer to use the external complaints procedure for CHSP services, which includes an independent review, we will assist you to do so. Please refer to the Concerns, Complaints and Suggestions section for further information.